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General Hotel Discussion

Poopoohead said:
Yes the food was abysmal in comparison to last years sleep over, the cuts were quite staggering.

Can you tell which desert is the luxury ice cream sundae and which is the child’s ice cream?!

https://ibb.co/eS4As6
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It was the same earlier in the year, the family next to us got their deserts as we were sitting down and couldn't work out what was what until it was pointed out to them, so we ordered child portions of everything and didn't notice the difference lol

We did the same in RR too, the family sharing the table ordered adult portions, we ordered everything off the kids menu, there was hardly any difference in portion size when it all arrived, not enough for me to consider one a child and one an adult anyway.

It's not just Merlin though, our local chippy is the same, we always order the kids meal as you get the same portion size as an adults and a free drink for half the price, must be a new fad in catering.
 
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Poopoohead said:
Yes the food was abysmal in comparison to last years sleep over, the cuts were quite staggering.

Can you tell which desert is the luxury ice cream sundae and which is the child’s ice cream?!

https://ibb.co/eS4As6
Click to expand...
Could the child's one be the one with the solitary raspberry on it? What with the emphasis on getting young kids to eat fruit now!
 
This is a crying shame. We did the Santa Sleepovers when our kids were young and they are honestly my best memories of Towers, not the rides, not the events, the Santa Sleepovers used to be brilliant.

Check in: they got the whole family involved, also when busy they were flogging mulled wine (heeeeeey - yes). It was fun. Kids given paper to write to Santa.

Park: Yes it was a few kids rides and sea-life but there was enough to occupy young families for a while, plus a bar open (HELLLO TOWERS). But the Santa experience was superb, knowing the kids names, good gifts, a non rushed experience and multiple photos - so very well done.

Back to hotels: a Panto or entertainment and fun stuff going on. Plus the bar.

Meal: A served starter, then carvery then served dessert - proper easy stuff but felt personal.

Then we would hit the lobbies with either/or entertainment. It was great.

Next day was a pass to the Water Park.

--

Honestly this is basic, using your resources effectively and making a great experience. I cant believe they've got it wrong, and looking at reviews they seem to have really got this badly wrong. How?!?!?!? I dont get it.
 
Ben said:
This is a crying shame. We did the Santa Sleepovers when our kids were young and they are honestly my best memories of Towers, not the rides, not the events, the Santa Sleepovers used to be brilliant.

Check in: they got the whole family involved, also when busy they were flogging mulled wine (heeeeeey - yes). It was fun. Kids given paper to write to Santa.

Park: Yes it was a few kids rides and sea-life but there was enough to occupy young families for a while, plus a bar open (HELLLO TOWERS). But the Santa experience was superb, knowing the kids names, good gifts, a non rushed experience and multiple photos - so very well done.

Back to hotels: a Panto or entertainment and fun stuff going on. Plus the bar.

Meal: A served starter, then carvery then served dessert - proper easy stuff but felt personal.

Then we would hit the lobbies with either/or entertainment. It was great.

Next day was a pass to the Water Park.

--

Honestly this is basic, using your resources effectively and making a great experience. I cant believe they've got it wrong, and looking at reviews they seem to have really got this badly wrong. How?!?!?!? I dont get it.
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Was this during the Merlin era or the Tussauds era, out of interest?
 
Ben said:
This is a crying shame. We did the Santa Sleepovers when our kids were young and they are honestly my best memories of Towers, not the rides, not the events, the Santa Sleepovers used to be brilliant.

Check in: they got the whole family involved, also when busy they were flogging mulled wine (heeeeeey - yes). It was fun. Kids given paper to write to Santa.

Park: Yes it was a few kids rides and sea-life but there was enough to occupy young families for a while, plus a bar open (HELLLO TOWERS). But the Santa experience was superb, knowing the kids names, good gifts, a non rushed experience and multiple photos - so very well done.

Back to hotels: a Panto or entertainment and fun stuff going on. Plus the bar.

Meal: A served starter, then carvery then served dessert - proper easy stuff but felt personal.

Then we would hit the lobbies with either/or entertainment. It was great.

Next day was a pass to the Water Park.

--

Honestly this is basic, using your resources effectively and making a great experience. I cant believe they've got it wrong, and looking at reviews they seem to have really got this badly wrong. How?!?!?!? I dont get it.
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Couldn’t agree with you more, we loved the event last year and it was truely magical. This year couldn’t have been any more different and included a hefty price increase. It was that bad I don’t think we will use resort accommodations again, unless it’s cheaper than Uttox premier inn!
 
I would like to book NYE but for just under £500, I am very reluctant to do so. No Annual Pass discount on the booking is one reason, but its the poor standards at the hotels which is really putting me off. The atrium has limited seating so how they will accommodate people from ATH and Enchanted Village all night will be interesting. Then its ATH itself with its worn out beds, old furnishings and noise levels in the rooms. And finally the poor quality food served up in the restaurant.

Looks like a lot of people aren't booking given the number of rooms still coming up as available. The themed rooms are still available which is pretty rare so close to NYE. Usually its sold out by now.

I remember the first NYE event I went to at ATH. They had snow machines on the roof at the rear of the hotel and staff walking around spreading fake snow over the hotel gardens , it looked amazing. They had a free to use bumper cars at the rear which was great fun. The food was good in the restaurant as was the entertainment. I've been 3 times now for NYE, but each year I do feel little things which make it special are no longer there.
 
No I didn't. I felt it was not worth the price being asked, and as I was taking someone new up, I was a bit worried I would be embarrassed at how poor the food / service would have been. Interestingly, about 5 days before NYE Alton put a post about it on Facebook as they still had rooms available. The price then jumped, from £450 (2 adults 1 child), to £480 the next day, then up to £550 the day after that!!
 
GaryH said:
and as I was taking someone new up, I was a bit worried I would be embarrassed at how poor the food / service would have been.
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This is a major problem I've had as well, which is a key reason why I stopped going to Towers completely. The last thing you want is to take somebody on a trip away, and them thinking they're going to have an amazing time only to be let down.

GaryH said:
The price then jumped, from £450 (2 adults 1 child), to £480 the next day, then up to £550 the day after that!!
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That's a scarcity tactic used in marketing to create hype and FOMO. Basically, they didn't sell out.
 
What's in the emperor suit (the doors next to dragon bar) I know it was used for Room 13 but what is it normally?

Also, what's the captains bar, is it just that seating area under the toilets?
 
Britford said:
What's in the emperor suit (the doors next to dragon bar) I know it was used for Room 13 but what is it normally?

Also, what's the captains bar, is it just that seating area under the toilets?
Click to expand...
The Emperor Suite is *usually* a steak and grill restaurant, opens very rarely. It's mainly used as a conference room or for other uses, like the VR experience last summer.

The Captains Bar is a small bar behind the ship (hidden behind some shutters), again opens rarely, usually used during peak periods to ease the pressure off Dragon's Bar.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
 
It looks like Emperor's Grill is no more, there is no mention of it at all on Towers' website. Such a pity as it was very good with fantastic steaks, and it was only a couple of years ago that it opened every weekend at least throughout the season.

I suppose Towers would argue that it has been replaced with RCR.

:)
 
Britford said:
What's in the emperor suit (the doors next to dragon bar) I know it was used for Room 13 but what is it normally?

Also, what's the captains bar, is it just that seating area under the toilets?
Click to expand...

Emperor suite is just a series of conference rooms, they don't get as much use any more since the full conference centre was opened.
 
The sad part for me is that I used to enjoy being able to have different food at the different theme parks. With all this bulk buying of the same stuff and the parks now mostly offering all the same options, this choice has now gone. Thankfully Alton still have Eastern Express!
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned previously so apologies if so. I stayed in ATH for the first time in quite a while on Sunday night and was very impressed with the new bathrooms in the standard rooms. Far better than the old dated bathrooms and the shower is fabulous!

:)
 
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